fitness 19 vacaville ca

  • Ahhhh, cyclocross in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mud, freezing temperatures, clogged up bikes. Not! We’re currently experiencing one of the best Novembers (weather-wise) in memory. After a few gloomy, foggy days, the skies opened up for the Bay Area Super Prestige Series race #4 in Golden Gate Park on Sunday, Nov. 30, 2008. Sunny, with temps in the mid 60’s and a tacky, moist, course made for awesome racing conditions. After threatening to race ‘cross for about the last 6 years, I finally took the plunge. This was to be my rookie attempt at ‘cross racing. My friend Zack was doing it, and racing in my category, so I had a buddy to roll with. I met Zack at his home in the Presidio (with amazing views of the Golden Gate bridge) and we rode to the venue, making for a nice warm-up through San Francisco streets on a beautiful Sunday morning. Race time for us was to be 10:00 A.M.

    We lined up the start. My plan was to have an easy start, be safe, stay out of trouble, then move up if I could. It turned out to be the opposite. My racing instinct took over when I lined up. After the call up of the top 20 riders in the race series, I nudged my way up to the second row. Zack was behind me, egging me on, "Move up, get on the front!" When the gun went off, I was ready! I punched it for the first 200 meters, 100 meters gradual uphill on pavement, then leveling off for another 100 meters before turning onto the dirt. I’ve got no sprint whatsoever, but somehow my hole-shot got me into 5th place as we entered the dirt. I was flabbergasted at being in such a forward position so quickly. Wow, maybe I’m a good ‘cross racer after all! Uhhh, maybe not. After that, I started going backward immediately. Zack passed me half way through the first lap and drifted forward, then others began passing. I found I could hold my own on the uphill sections, but lost tons of time in the transitions. My run-ups, mounts, and dismounts were dismal.

    I settled into a good pace and held my own for the rest of the race, learning a lot, and having a ball. I finished 24th, about mid pack, a satisfactory effort for my first time. It’s a great crowd out there and I look forward to doing more CX racing. The course in Golden Gate Park was awesome, and the organization of the race was dialed, thanks to Tom Simpson and his crew. My Scott bike was superb, and handled the course with ease.

    Teammates Rich and Glenn, avid CX racers were there, and both had great days. Here’s Rich’s report:

    Pilarcitos Seizoen Zes #4 (Golden Gate Park) SingleSpeed 16/52

    Racing in the heart of the city under sunny November skies is not to be missed. The Pilarcitos crew set up a nice ~6:30 to 7min lap which included a wide start/finish asphalt straight, several sandy/rooty sections, one barrier with short up, one mess with your head barrier aka groove killer, and a final climb to a double barrier before hitting the repeat button. My first laps were really consistent and I kept the top guys right in front of me, but never closed the gap which is a big mistake in CX. In the middle of the race, I took a nice fall (of course on my broken leg side), but slid out of it fine, and I ended up only losing some skin and contact with my little group of suffering. The rest of the race was just picking off geared guys and watching the top A guys come a flying by (that is really the best way to learn ... just get behind one of these rocket ships and hang on for dear life).
    It was great seeing Paul and Zack out there and am looking forward to another brutal hour next Sunday at Coyote Point, San Mateo.
    Later, Rich


















  • Nick Schaffner
    Normally when I line up at a Cyclocross race, I'm one of the few - if not the only idiot on a single speed rig. However at Dorothy McAlinden Park in Northern Reno this past Saturday, I revved my pedals with at least a dozen other one-geared spinners, enough to even warrant our own start time.

    I managed to score the hole-shot on the only sandy run-up and led the group for the first lap. Had I been monitoring my heart-rate during this initial pull, I wouldn't have charged so hard. Once the lactic started pouring in, it didn't stop for 60 minutes. For the next few laps, my legs got heavier and heavier, and I was passed by more and more riders. I didn't settle into a rhythm until the last few laps, but that was far too late for a good result. My average heart-rate was 176 bpm, just 2 beats shy of my threshold. This puts my effort on par with the 90 minute chase down of the peleton Nate and I made during the 2008 Nevada City Classic.

    If you watch the video, you can see how much slower I am pedaling than the folks behind me, I think my 36x16 gearing is still too hard, even for a flat course. In the end I suffered hard, and that's all that really matters.



    Conrad Snover
    I'd never done in a 'cross race before, but I figured since I'm fairly proficient at both road and mtb racing, and since 'cross is a mix of the 2, I'd be ok.